KBA is building a new demo centre in Würzburg for digital and flexographic presses, a counterpart to its sheetfed demo centre in Radebuel.
With a usable area of around 2100sqm, modernised premises of 21,164 cubic metres and investment totalling €6m, including technical infrastructure KBA says the building project is one of ambitious scale.
Dave Lewis, general manager sheetfed, KBA Australia says, “We have been using the demo centre in Radebuel for sheetfed customers and we will have the same opportunity for digital and flexo customers. We can show the whole range of sheetfed, flexo and digital machines in Germany.”
It is the latest in a series of investments in new buildings at the Würzburg site, following a new logistics centre and design building in 2001, two new production halls in 2003 and 2008 and a new foundry in 2012.
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Claus Bolza-Schünemann, chairman of KBA, says, “KBA-Digital & Web builds the world’s largest inkjet roll-fed rotary presses and in future also high performance sheetfed presses to meet the growing demand for corrugated cardboard packaging.
“Our Italian subsidiary KBA-Flexotecnica offers technically outstanding flexo rotary presses for film, paper and lightweight cardboard packaging. With the widest portfolio of all manufacturers, KBA Group offers print solutions for virtually all markets. We want to present our systems for the above growth sectors live in action at the new demo centre.
“Many of our national and international customers want to see the presses being operated in action before they decide to invest. And of course, we hope that this substantial investment will have a positive impact on our business in these new markets for KBA.”
As counterpart to the demo centre for sheet offset presses and processing systems at Radebeul in Saxony, the new demo centre in Main-Franconia will feature a RotaJET digital printing press for commercial, publication and décor printing, a flexo rotary press from KBA-Digital & Web Würzburg’s Italian subsidiary KBA-Flexotecnica cooperating on flexible packaging, and a newly developed sheetfed flexo press from KBA-Digital & Web for direct printing on corrugated cardboard.
Aside from customer demos, testing new developments is also planned. Solutions for virtually all print markets.
The foundation was laid in January with Bolza-Schünemann, chairman of KBA and Christoph Müller, CEO of KBA-Digital and Web Solutions laying the foundation stone earlier this month.
The new demo centre should be ready by spring. The company will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in September.
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